News Release

UTD Announces Its 2005-06 Jazz Season

RICHARDSON, Texas (Aug. 4, 2005) -- The School of Arts & Humanities at The University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) today announced its 2005–06 Jazz Concerts Season, which will be headlined by the annual concert at UTD by The University of North Texas’ world-renowned One O’Clock Lab Band and appearances by the Bill Mays Trio and David Newman. These three concerts will be held in the UTD Conference Center and will begin at 8 p.m.

The One O’Clock Lab Band, the four-time Grammy-nominated, premier-performing ensemble of UNT’s highly acclaimed jazz program, will perform on Sept. 24. Directed by Neil Slater, the band has received awards from National Public Radio, VISA International, the International Association of Jazz Educators and the Dallas Observer Reader’s Poll. Regarded as unsurpassed among university jazz bands, it has performed at the White House, recently toured both the Pacific Northwest and New York City and was the special guest of the King of Thailand.

Known as “Fathead,” Texas great Newman has performed as a studio musician with such artists as Hank Crawford, Aretha Franklin, Aaron Neville and Herbie Mann. He will play at UTD on Oct. 7. Newman met Ray Charles while touring in the 1940’s. He later played with the Ray Charles Band for 12 years. Newman has appeared on David Sanborn's Night Music, the David Letterman show and Saturday Night Live. The Washington Post calls his most recent CD, titled I Remember Brother Ray, a “sincere, evocative and soulful homage” to the late Ray Charles.

The N’Awlins Gumbo Kings, will perform Jan. 20 as part of a Mardi Gras collaboration involving The Sammons Center and UTD. When the group plays, trumpet, clarinet, saxophone, piano, trombone, bass, drums and vocals blend to create lively authentic New Orleans-style jazz. Although the group is relatively new, individual members have performed with such notable musicians as Ray Charles, Paul McCartney, Woody Herman, Stan Kenton and Ellis Marsalis. For an additional charge, concertgoers will be able to attend a reception the night of the concert.

The Bill Mays Trio will perform on April 1 .Born into a musical family, May began taking piano lessons when he was five and had had his first exposure to jazz -- a solo concert by Earl "Fatha" Hines – as a teenager. Later, after discovering the music of Bill Evans, Art Tatum, Horace Silver and Jimmy Rowles, he found himself “hooked” on jazz embarked on his professional career. Since then, Mays has been the musical director for Sarah Vaughan and accompanied singers Frank Sinatra, Al Jarreau, Mark Murphy and Helen Merrill. Before moving to New York in the mid-80’s, he spent 12 years as a session player in Hollywood, making many albums and recording hundreds of TV and movie scores. The Bill Mays Trio also includes Matt Wilson on drums and Martin Wind on bass.

Also on the 2005–2006 season of jazz concerts are the UTD Jazz Band and UTD Chamber Singers, the university’s premier performing ensembles under the direction of Kelly Durbin and Kathryn Evans, respectively. The two groups will join for an evening of jazz favorites Feb. 25 at 8 p.m. in the University Theatre. Kelly Durbin and Friends will perform Nov. 9, in the Jonsson Performance Hall at 5 p.m. Durbin is UTD's own jazz pianist who each year brings together local musicians for a performance that inevitably delights both jazz connoisseurs and casual listeners alike.

Additional information about each event is available on the UTD Arts & Humanities website: http://ah.utdallas.edu/. All programs are subject to change. UTD ticket office hours are from 2 to 5 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and at the door one hour prior to show time. To purchase tickets using Visa, MasterCard, or Discover during those hours, please call 972-883-2787.

For information about the many musical, arts, theatre, dance and other performances and exhibitions held throughout the year at UTD, please call 972-UTD-ARTS (972-883-2787), e-mail utdarts@utdallas.edu or visit the School of Arts and Humanities’ web site at http://ah.utdallas.edu/

The University of Texas at Dallas, located at the convergence of Richardson, Plano and Dallas in the heart of the complex of major multinational technology corporations known as the Telecom Corridor®, enrolls more than 14,000 students. The school’s freshman class traditionally stands at the forefront of Texas state universities in terms of average SAT scores. The university offers a broad assortment of bachelor’s, master’s and doctoral degree programs. For additional information about UTD, please visit the university’s website at www.utdallas.edu.